RE: Off-campus access electronic resources via an authentication-enabl=

[HUNT_STEVE <HUNT_STEVE@smc.edu>]

Most large libraries are using proxy servers to provide remote access to
their users. Do a search on Google for "library proxy" and see the number
of hits you get!

Smaller libraries (like mine) sometimes use other approaches such as
referer URLs or publisher provided institutional usernames and passwords.

If a publisher/aggregator asks if you are using a proxy server you should
tell them; they could set up code that checks for proxy-relay headers and
disallows proxy requests for unregistered proxy servers (a user in your IP
address space could set up a rogue proxy server and allow open access to
IP-authenticated resources)

Problems with Squid as you are using it might be that usernames and
passwords are sent in clear-text if you are using HTTP Basic
Authentication. Also some browser versions don't work with proxy servers.  
I recently did a presentation on remote authentication, it is at
http://library.smc.edu/rua.htm and a list of other resources is at
http://library.smc.edu/rpa.htm

Steve Hunt
Santa Monica College Library
hunt_steve@smc.edu

_____________________________

> From: Hao-Ren Ke [mailto:claven@lib.nctu.edu.tw]
> Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2001 3:59 PM
> To: liblicense
> Subject: Off-campus access electronic resources via an
> authentication-enabl=
> 
> Dear Colleagues,
> 
> Recently, My university, National Chiao-Tung University 
> (NCTU)  in Taiwan,
> creates an authentication-enabled proxy for off-campus accessing
> electronic resources. We use Squid as the proxy server 
> software and links
> Squid's user authentication module to the authentication function of
> NCTU's library automation system. Whenever a user wants to access any
> electronic resources via this proxy, he has to key in his 
> patron ID and
> password, and Squid will connect to the authentication 
> function of NCTU's
> library automation system to verify if he is a valid NCTU patron.
> 
> I want to open this proxy to NCTU patrons so that they can access NCTU
> subscribed electronic resources when they are off-campus. I tell this
> authentication mechanism to a few publishers or vendors, and 
> all of them
> agree. Furthermore, as far as I know, several libraries or consortia
> exploit similar mechanism to provide off-campus access to electronic
> resoueces.
> 
> My question is... Do any of colleagues' library use similar 
> mechanism or
> have better mechanisms for off-campus access? And if we adopt this
> mechanism, do we have to inform all the related publishers 
> and vendors of
> this and ask for their permissions?
> 
> Sincerely,
> Hao-Ren
> 
> --
>   Hao-Ren Ke                          *Tel: 886-3-5712121 ext. 52622
>   * E-mail: claven@cc.nctu.edu.tw     *Fax: 886-3-5731743
>   * Personal Home Page=A1G http://www.cc.nctu.edu.tw/~claven
>   Library of National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, R.O.C